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Hand showing an illustration of human lungs (Dreamstime/transurfer343)

In Focus

Q&A: Lung doctor who worked in the hospital now treating Pope Francis explains his illness

Pope Francis was in pain, swollen and walking very little. Italian pulmonologist Dr. Barbara Moscatelli says that this is common in elderly patients who share the pontiff's lung illness.

Most Read Stories

Cardinal Timothy Dolan celebrates Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on Dec. 29, 2024, to mark the kickoff of the 2025 Jubilee. Dolan delivered a homily Feb. 15 at the Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John's, Newfoundland, after the cardinal’s flight to Ireland was unexpectedly diverted. (OSV News/Jeffrey Bruno)

#1
Cardinal Dolan among passengers whose flight is diverted, grounded on Canadian island

A diverted trip, a grounded flight and an unexpected stay in Canada showed that "Jesus ... is in charge, not us," said Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York in a Feb. 15 homily.

ByGina Christian, OSV News
Pope Francis holds his spring meeting with the officers of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops April 18, 2024, at the Vatican. Seated from left are: Fr. Michael J.K. Fuller, the conference's general secretary; Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, vice president; Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president and head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services; and Fr. Paul B.R. Hartmann, associate general secretary. (CNS/Vatican Media)
NCR Voices

#2
While refuting JD Vance's hillbilly theology, Pope Francis chastises US bishops

It is not every day that the pope publicly scolds a group of bishops. Those unfamiliar with papal texts can be forgiven for thinking Pope Francis' letter to the U.S. bishops was one of encouragement. It wasn't.

ByMichael Sean Winters
Newly sworn-in Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, center left, and his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, center right, pose for a photo with their children and Vice President JD Vance, center, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, Jan. 28, 2025. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Department of Transportation)

#3
Trump's Catholic Cabinet: How will their faith shape their work?

More than a third of Trump's Cabinet nominees are Catholic. Three — Sean Duffy, Marco Rubio and John Ratcliffe — have already been confirmed by the Senate. Here are brief profiles of all nine of Trump's Catholic picks.

ByHeidi Schlumpf

#4
Word extinguished: Bishop Barron's digital silence

#5
Vatican says Pope Francis has pneumonia in both lungs

#6
Q&A: Lung doctor who worked in the hospital now treating Pope Francis explains his illness

Opinion

US Catholics' political attitudes: It's complicated (but hopeful)

Guest Voices

Elon Musk's business models are antithetical to good governance

NCR Voices
White House staff secretary Will Scharf, Elon Musk and his son X Æ A-Xii are pictured with President Donald Trump at the White House, Feb. 11 in Washington.

Elon Musk's business models are antithetical to good governance

NCR Voices

Michael Sean Winters says it is time to banish the idea that business practices are conducive to the work of government.

Trump's audacity echoes the age-old voice of fallen empires

Guest Voices

The spiritual wisdom of Howard Thurman in the face of fear

NCR Voices
Sr. Marie Frank, a member of the Missionaries of Charity, prepares lunch in a soup kitchen run by her order in an apartment building in the South Bronx section of New York in this 2016 photo. (CNS/Gregory A. Shemitz)

¿Volverá a surgir la vida religiosa? ¿Debería hacerlo?

Columnas

¿Cuál es el propósito de la vida consagrada en el mundo actual? La Hna. Joan Chittister afirma que no todas las religiosas están llamadas a trabajar directamente con los pobres ni a desempeñar el mismo tipo de ministerio. "Son las habilidades y el interés que cada hermana tiene en sí misma lo que decide el don que desarrolla", escribe y puntualiza que los carismas son dinámicos y deben renovarse constantemente. 

Vatican

A woman prays as a man reacts next to the statue of St. John Paul II outside Rome's Gemelli Hospital Feb. 20, 2025, where Pope Francis is admitted for treatment for a respiratory infection. (OSV News photo/Guglielmo Mangiapane, Reuters)
Vatican News

Pope Francis receives oxygen, blood transfusion, Vatican says

Francis' condition continues to be critical and the pope is not out of danger.

Portrait of Gregg M. Caggianelli
Vatican News

Florida priest, a 30-year Air Force veteran, named auxiliary for US military archdiocese

Pope Francis has appointed Gregg M. Caggianelli, as auxiliary bishop of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services. 

ByOSV News
Aerial view of St. Peter's Square on cloudy day.
Vatican News

UK court refuses to say financier acted in 'good faith' in Vatican deal but says he wasn't dishonest

A British court on Friday largely backed the Vatican in refusing to declare that a London-based financier acted in "good faith" in his dealings over the Holy See's 350-million euro (US$375 million) investment in a London property.

ByNicole Winfield, Associated Press
Nuns pray next to the statue of St. John Paul II outside Rome's Gemelli Hospital Feb. 20, 2025, where Pope Francis is admitted for treatment for a respiratory infection. The Vatican press office said early Feb. 20 that the pope had a peaceful night, "got up and had breakfast in an armchair." (OSV News photo/Guglielmo Mangiapane, Reuters)
Vatican News

Pope's doctors say Francis not in danger of death, cardinals push back against resignation rumors

Pope Francis' doctors believe the 88-year-old pontiff is not in danger of death at the moment, but that the therapy for his double pneumonia needs time to work and will require at least another week of hospitalization. 

ByChristopher White

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Vatican News

When the pope is sick, Italians always gossip about who comes next - even before 'Conclave'

Vatican News

Pope Francis, battling pneumonia, continues to improve, but long recovery anticipated

Vatican News

Catholics worldwide unite in prayer for pope's health

Ophioglossum
Viewpoints

Discovering an environmental imagination in unexpected places

The French documentary 7 Walks with Mark Brown, filmed by Pierre Creton and Vincent Barré, helped me realize the whole world is charged with the grandeur of God, not just the parts that stand out or look nice.

Sebastian Gollnow / Picture Alliance via Getty Images via Grist
Politics

Trump's attack on paper straws is mostly symbolic — but the plastics industry is celebrating

Plastic straws have become an international emblem of the harms of plastic pollution, and Trump's order is the latest salvo in a culture war that pits care for the environment against values like masculinity and freedom.

ByJoseph Winters, Grist
A group of young people shovel soil around base of newly planted tree.
Politics

Faith groups' environmental projects halted by Trump's climate funding freeze

More than 300 faith communities have lost access to grant funds that were intended to plant trees in disadvantaged urban communities, environmental faith leaders who managed the grants told RNS.

ByAleja Hertzler-McCain, Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service
Two fishermen in Bodo city arrive home with no catch after oil spills have affected aquatic life in local communities.
Justice

Catholics in Nigeria say Shell can't divest contaminated oil sites before cleanup

More than 1,200 residents from oil communities in the Niger Delta have filed a $323 million lawsuit against UK-based Royal Dutch Shell to halt their planned exit from the region. In Jan. 2024, Shell announced it had reached an agreement with a consortium of five Nigerian-based companies to divest its onshore operations from the region.

ByPatrick Egwu

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Justice

'Martyr of the Amazon': Recalling Sr. Dorothy Stang's ministry 20 years after her murder

Justice

Loyola Marymount environment conference caught in Trump's DEI crackdown

Justice

Pope calls for respect for Indigenous peoples' land, water, food

Culture

Supporters of persons arrested a week earlier in an attempted raid on a Selective Service office greet those arrested at a court hearing in Camden, New Jersey, on Aug. 30, 1971. Those arrested were brought from a New Jersey jail in handcuffs. Among them is John Grady, right, handcuffed, wearing black. They became known as the "Camden 28." (AP photo/Bill Ingraham)
Book Reviews

Book paints the Camden 28 as 'Spiritual Criminals.' But were their actions effective?

A book like Spiritual Criminals has the potential to offer a significant contribution to U.S. Catholics' understanding of our history and provide inspiration for political activism today. 

The New York City-based Catholic musician Meredith Augustin will perform several liturgies, lead the Taizé Prayer and sing at a workshop at the 2025 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. (Karen Lindell)

At LA Congress, musician Meredith Augustin brings inclusive, contemplative ethos

The New York City-based Catholic musician Meredith Augustin will perform several liturgies, lead the Taizé Prayer and sing at a workshop at this week's Los Angeles Religious Education Congress.

ByKaren Lindell
The front of church with bell tower and tiled roof.

Basilicas, churches and shrines across US are Jubilee 2025 pilgrimage sites

Across the country, basilicas, churches and shrines have begun opening their doors to local pilgrims. These sites each have a unique history and hold significance in their local region, helping Catholics to encounter God in new ways.

ByJack Figge, OSV News
Sky Yang in "Last Days," a dramatic retelling of the life of missionary John Allen Chau who was killed in 2018 while proselytizing the inhabitants of a North Sentinel Island tribe. (Sundance Institute/Tanasak "Top" Boonlam)

'Last Days' is a cautionary tale of evangelism — and screenwriting — gone wrong

By trying to be "all things to all people" — wanting to both affirm murdered missionary John Chau's humanity and criticize the cocktail of motivations that drove him — "Last Days" turns an interesting story tepid.

ByZachary Lee

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

The new trend in must-see TV is … pastoral care?

Book Reviews

Pope Francis reveals some secrets — and keeps many others — in new memoir

Book Reviews

Catholic clergy abuse survivor details his story in tender new book

An image of Christ and other merchandise with an image of multibillionaire Elon Musk are displayed on Inauguration Day in Washington Jan. 20, 2025, when Donald Trump was sworn in to his second presidential term. (OSV News/Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)
Columns

The existence of billionaires is immoral

Through taxes on those who have the most, we could provide a good life for our communities. We must demand our elected leaders act in our collective best interest so that we can all live in the world as God sees it.

Sr. Janefrances Ihekuna poses for a photo with a nursing mother and her baby after testing them for malaria and HIV during their free medical outreach in the community.

Q&A with Sr. Janefrances Ihekuna, providing health care in Nigeria's waterfront communities

Ihekuna’s work focuses on essential hygiene practices, such as purifying drinking water, maintaining personal cleanliness and promoting the use of sanitary towels for women and girls.

ByValentine Benjamin
Guests Gregory Morton and Angela Rice sit in the front room of St. Joseph's Place in Schenectady, N.Y. "This is a safe haven," Morton said. "If they're open, I'm here." (Sara Foss)

St. Joseph's Place offers safe haven in a troubled Schenectady neighborhood

For St. Joseph's Place regulars, the biggest draw is the three Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet who run the drop-in center. They provide comfort, care and counsel, which are intangible but very much needed.

By
Young boys enjoy a game of soccer during their spare time at St. Lawrence Home of Hope in Lusaka, Zambia. (Derrick Silimina)

At St. Lawrence Home of Hope in Lusaka, boys from the street get a new start

With the help of Zambian sisters and the Missionaries of Africa, the residential home reintegrates street kids into their families, homes and society while helping them regain their childhood, confidence and dreams.

By

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Q&A with Sr. Noel Rose, forming students into responsible citizens

African sisters partner with Global Sisters Report in a health care webinar

Are we stuck in a Catch-22 about ordained ministry for laywomen?

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